"I don't think my pants will fit it. I didn't realize they made humans so small. It will drag my clothes all through the dirt," replied the blonde faerie girl who was eying me with open disdain—Trahern's sister. They ran the inn just outside the Whispering Forest where the Hunt had taken place. The Whispering Inn.

I sat quietly on the edge of the bed while Trahern and his sister stood over me. Unlike Trahern, she was all hues of golden yellow, mixed with the warm sun-kissed tone of her skin. She also had the brightest green eyes I had ever seen. She might have appeared human, had it not been for the slit cat-like pupils of her eyes and the delicate little-pointed ears that stuck out from her braided hair.

Like her brother, she wore a tunic and trousers; only hers were not meant for mucking out stalls in the stables. The material looked simple, yet fine, with delicate embroidery along its hems. Golden threads weaved through the green material, likely meant to bring out her eyes.

Had she been a bit more hospitable, I might have found her dazzling.

"Oh come on, Cath. She can't go all the way to Firya in a Prize's dress and shoes."

Cath glanced at the ceiling, her frown deepening. "It could try. It's not like it will live that long, anyway."

Trahern paled to a shade of alabaster. "Don't say that in front of her. Mortals hate being reminded of their mortality. It's considered quite rude, or so I hear."

Cath only shrugged. "Well, it is true. I can't lie." A smile snuck across her lips, and she looked pleased for the first time since I met her.

I pressed my lips together in a frown. They were speaking English, but for once I wished they weren't. Maybe then it might not have bothered me so much to be referred to as an "it."

Repeatedly.

"How about these," Trahern said, holding up a pair of faded brown trousers similar to his own. "You haven't worn these in about two hundred years."

I wasn't so sure he meant that as an exaggeration, based on his casual tone. Cath's eyes flicked to the trousers, then to me. Then she sighed, lifting her hands in the air. "Only because of Ronan. I know it would inconvenience him to have to deal with his little pet getting one of those disgusting human illnesses if she is not appropriately clothed."

Cath looked back at me, addressing me for the first time. "I am supposed to see to your feet?" Her nose wrinkled as she looked me up and down.

It took all my effort not to kick her with one. Instead, I smiled, the expression strained. "Why thank you," I said through gritted teeth. "How kind of you."

I was pretty sure she missed my sarcasm.

Instead, she looked startled. "Oh please, no need for your human politeness. I just can't have you tracking blood through my inn. Also, I hear your kind gets infections easily." She stopped and screwed her face up like she was surprised to have been talking to me at all. Then Cath turned, calling to Trahern.

"Trahern. Bring the water basin here."

Trahern bent and lifted one of the large bowls they had brought into the room with them. There was one bed in the room—the one I sat upon—then a single window along with a small chair and table. It was an inn meant for people just passing through, not for luxury.

"My sister knows a lot about humans, don't mind her, she's always a bit prickly at first. It's just her temperament. She will heal you up, good as new," Trahern said as he trotted over, sloshing water over the brim of the basin as he set it down beside me. Cath had me lift my leg while I looked on, seriously doubting Trahern's words. 

Cath inspected my foot, then frowned and muttered something that wasn't English.

"Well, you've gone right and made a mess of these feet. Rather silly when you think of it. It's not like you can go and get a new pair. Don't you humans wear shoes?"

"We do," I replied, my voice in a monotone. I hadn't slept in a long time, and any caution I should have heeded was quickly flying out the window the more that Cath spoke.

Once he had dropped me off in the room, Ronan had vanished, leaving me at these two fae's mercy. I wondered faintly if he was coming back at all, or if he had simply planned on finding a decent place to drop me before he went off and did...whatever it was that Ronan did.

Kill people, and take care of his horse, apparently.

"Oh. Well, you seem to have forgotten yours," Cath said before I could let my thoughts linger on Ronan.

I couldn't help but give her a flabbergasted glare. "They were ruined when I was forced to dance to death!"

Cath tilted her head at me curiously, ringing out a cloth. She looked from me, back to my feet, then she muttered something to Trahern in Gaelic, and he ran from the room.

She leaned over me, ignoring my outburst as she started to clean my wounds. I crossed my arms and looked away.

"What is your name?" she asked finally, surprising me. She dipped the cloth back in the water, ringing it out along with mud and some old brown blood. She returned it to my foot, and I flinched at the sudden sting.

"Like I would tell you," I said, eyeing her. She gave a small smile, then started cleaning off my other foot.

"Smart, but only true names are a concern. I don't really care to know that. Anyway, mortal, your feet are pretty scratched up, but it doesn't look serious. As long as you keep them clean, they should heal well enough. My brother will bring some bandages and salve in a short while. I assume you can apply them yourself?" She stood, my feet now cleaned up.

I watched her with narrowed eyes. It was hard to make sense of her. I gave her a single nod.

"Good. After that, you should get dressed. I will have Trahern fetch you some fresh water so you can wash up the rest of yourself." She wrinkled her nose in disgust for a moment.

"But, young mortal," she continued, her emerald cat-eyes turning serious. "I will give you some advice. Ronan is no normal male, even here in Faerie. I do not know why it was that he chose to participate in this season's Hunt, but I doubt it was to get himself a mortal bride. Either way, you are with him now. Keep your head low, and stay near his side. No other males will go near you if you are around him. But whatever you do, be careful. Always be wary of fresh, spilled blood. His bloodlust is an unpredictable thing, and I'm not sure even he can control it—not that he often cares too."

I sat still, thinking of when Ronan had stabbed Eirian during the Hunt. Then back further than that, during the preliminary fight when he had been terrifying, almost gleeful to be surrounded by so much bloodshed. Then, my mind flickered to the terrifying expression he had worn when he looked at me, just after he had drunk my blood during the ceremony. It had looked like he was struggling to maintain control.

Still, when he had held our hands together, during that one strange and unbidden intimate moment, my blood did not seem to have affected him then. No, at that time he had seemed almost...human.

But that was impossible.

I tilted my head forward. "Th—"

"Don't thank me, human. Never thank a faerie. They will always want something in return. You are lucky I have no desire for anything you have to offer." She paused, looking over the bloodstained cloth that had been used on my feet. Then a smile curled her lips.

"For now, anyway. Perhaps a day will come when I change my mind."

~~~

True to Cath's words, Trahern returned with bandages and a fresh basin of water. He pestered me for a few moments, but after begrudgingly realizing I needed some privacy, he left me to bathe. I stared at the bowl of cold water and the cloth, realizing rather unenthusiastically that if Faerie had such a thing as running water, the Whispering Inn was not fortunate enough to be equipped with the luxury.

That, or it was another Faerie trick. Regardless, I saw no bathroom attached to the room. I made quick work of stripping myself out of the shredded dress, which stuck to my skin in some places under a thick layer of dirt, grime, and blood. I was not sure when Ronan was returning, but if he ever did, I did not want to get caught naked.

Now alone, and not running for my life, it was hard not to dwell on my predicament.

What Cath had said had been a warning. If I stayed near Ronan I would be safe from the other fae. But I was more concerned about the danger he posed to me.

I thought back to Marlais and how she described him. Sickness rose up in my throat, and the porridge and fresh fruit Trahern had brought me earlier sat like lead in my stomach. I didn't know what to do. I knew I couldn't trust Ronan, but at this point, I had few options.

I bent over to wrap my sore feet in the fresh white bandages. The thick skin had been ripped up by the rocks and twigs of the forest floor, leaving them much worse than what Cath had implied. I rubbed in the salve Trahern and Cath had provided me with, wincing at the sting.

Once I had bandaged myself and cleaned myself the best I could, trying to clean off Everard's crusted blood on my back and in my hair. When I was done, the clean water basin was a murky brown. 

I dressed in the clothing the fae inn owners had left me. There was a pair of work trousers that were a little long on my legs. I cuffed them around my ankles so they wouldn't drag on the ground. I pulled on a simple white tunic, which was made of hard, starchy material. They weren't anything I would usually wear, but I was glad to finally be out of the horrible white dress, which sat in a crumpled ball on the ground.

Then I sat. Even though I had not been forbidden to leave, I knew that I was safest in this room. Beyond the doors was a whole slew of unknown things. As much as I didn't trust Ronan, at least he didn't look at me like he wanted to eat me up like the other creatures did.

Plus, I was sore, exhausted, and quite frankly—I had no energy.

Eventually, the sky outside started to darken, and my feet, much to my surprise, appeared to be healing better. Trahern returned once more with some more bandages for me. When I looked at my feet, I noticed the scratches looked smaller than before. I sniffed the salve Cath had given me, but all I smelled was a natural earthy scent.

It turned out Cath and Trahern were phookas. I remembered my Gran telling me about the mischievous shapeshifting fae. Seeing one could be both a lucky thing or a great misfortune.

I was starting to understand how the Fae world was divided. The Night Courts and the Day Courts. Eirian had been from the Day—the Water Court to be specific, and it seemed Ronan belonged somewhere in the Night Courts, something I wasn't particularly thrilled about. Gran had told me there was the good fae and the bad fae, and I had few doubts about which kind Ronan was.

I needed to get home.

For now, however, I had to bide my time and wait for the right opportunity. Until then, I had to do something I wasn't very good at. I had to observe and learn about this world, then plan a way to escape it.